Membership has long been an essential revenue generator for educational attractions (museums, zoos, aquariums, living history museums, and botanical gardens) throughout the country. The concept of membership has evolved over time, sometimes losing relevance, other times offering experiences that both individuals and families crave. We wanted to find out from those who live in the Northeast what they think of memberships.

So we talked to people from Maine to Pennsylvania to find out: If they have memberships, why? If they don’t, why not? What would make the “nots” change their minds? What benefits do they care about? And which ones could they live without? You may be surprised at some of the answers. We were.

No One Wants Your Magazine (And Other Things We Learned about Memberships to Educational Attractions)

Here are three highlights of what we found most interesting:

1. It’s not just families who want memberships.
2. Most people value an educational attraction’s publication less than than any other benefit.
3. Every single person who has a membership is satisfied with it. Every single one. (At least the ones we surveyed.)

Take a look at the full museum membership infographic below to learn more about who has memberships to educational attractions, where they have them, and what they value most.